José María Fernández del Vallado, Secretary General of UIBC and CEBP outlines how collaboration, skills development and sustainability are shaping the sector
As Secretary-General working closely with the UIBC, can you describe how the organisation supports confectioners globally?
I am the Secretary General, both of the European Confederation of National Bakery and Confectionery Organisations (CEBP) and of the International Union of Bakers and Confectioners (UIBC), and we support confectioners under two different fronts:
In CEBP we have a political counterpart (the European Union), with two interlocutors, the European Commission and the European Parliament. In both cases we must lobby actively to identify and prevent any upcoming legislation that affects the confectionery trade and to foster any measure that may help our micro, small and medium-sized members in their future development. Although CEBP is of EU scope, the emerging EU legislation will almost always eventually affect most of the rest of the countries in the world and therefore, what we achieve in CEBP will be for the benefit of confectioners worldwide.
The aim of UIBC is complementary, having no lobbying counterpart. It is mainly focused on fostering the professions, through international competitions both for young and master professionals; nomination of the World Baker and World Confectioner every year; market intelligence and benchmarking; and collaboration and knowledge sharing.
Confectionery makers have faced significant challenges this year – from rising ingredient prices and energy costs to skills shortages. Which pressures do you see as the most urgent, and how is UIBC helping members navigate them?
Volatile raw material costs remain the most acute pressure, with this volatility being particularly challenging for SMEs.
Energy and operating costs are still structurally high, and while peak energy prices have eased in some markets, electricity and gas costs remain well above historical standards.
Skills shortages, implying a lack of qualified professionals, are a key problem across all professions, making knowledge transfer and the attraction of young people critical as experienced staff retire faster than new talent enters the sector.
UIBC supports its members as expressed in Point 1, while CEBP, via the BreadInitiative Platform, has presented a specific joint position paper to the European Parliament and the European Commission on energy challenges for the bakery and confectionery sectors. Furthermore, the joint Vision Paper presented last December at the end-of-year event urges legislators to implement measures revising education and training content, promoting labour mobility, and enhancing programmes like Erasmus+ for Young Entrepreneurs.
Innovation remains vital in confectionery, whether in flavours, textures, reformulation, or processing technologies. What major trends do you expect to shape the global confectionery sector in 2026?
For most actors, I think that the perceived major trends are:
- Value-driven innovation under cost pressure
- Health-conscious indulgence, not restriction
- Premiumisation through experience and storytelling
- Sustainability embedded into product and process
- Processing and manufacturing innovation
- Global–local hybridisation
Sustainability and responsible sourcing are becoming non-negotiable across chocolate and sugar confectionery supply chains. How is UIBC engaging with these issues, and what support does it provide to help businesses transition responsibly?
UIBC places sustainability and responsible sourcing at the core of its advocacy and industry coordination, recognising them as essential for long-term resilience in chocolate and sugar confectionery supply chains. However, as I previously said, UIBC has no political counterpart; therefore, our role in supporting our members is basically through collaboration and knowledge sharing.
Via CEBP, on this issue, we are mainly working together with the BreadInitiative Platform, which is committed to advancing a sustainable food system and actively participating in the transition process. We acknowledge our interdependence with the agricultural sector in this journey. Regarding new regulatory requirements, we urge policymakers to engage with the bakery and confectionery sectors to understand and mitigate any risks or unintended consequences of proposed policies. Consultation with the sector, systematic impact assessment, prioritisation, phased implementation and financial incentives are crucial for effective decision-making to facilitate the shift towards greener practices in our businesses.
Read the full interview in our latest issue here
